Where Did Dad Go? (End of the Fate/Apocrypha Arc) / Epilogue: Fiore and Shirou

"So, this is how it ends, huh?"

As the smoke of battle gradually dissipated, revealing Siegfried kneeling on the ground, Karna addressed his opponent in his usual tone:

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as Karna turned his gaze to his chest. The demonic sword [Balmung, the Greatsword of Fantasy], which had just been in Siegfried's hand, was now embedded in his chest.

He took the hit head-on from his own Noble Phantasm, then seized the opportunity to throw the weapon, which pierced right through his own Spirit Core...

"You won, Saber."

"If your substitute Master hadn't died, I probably would have been the one to disappear within your Noble Phantasm."

Siegfried did not take credit for it. If he hadn't received news of Amakusa Shirou's death when the Noble Phantasm was activated, he wouldn't have decided to try this method as a precaution. Even so, Karna's Noble Phantasm was still incredibly powerful.

He glanced at it subconsciously and saw the marks on the back of his hand Command Spell had just disappeared.

Siegfried's lips unconsciously curved into a slight smile. In short—

I have accomplished my mission, Master; I have secured this victory.

Chapter 289. Where Did Dad Go? (End of FA Volume)

Pfft!

The sound of the spear piercing a heart was like the final note in a musical piece, bringing the battle to a close.

"Pentesi... Lea..."

Ignoring the spear at his chest, Achilles raised his head and gazed at the beautiful woman before him.

That beauty was just as I remembered it.

"As expected, you're still the same, you beast."

Because of her Noble Phantasm, Penthesilea transformed into [the form of herself at that moment] that she hated, but because of this, she also gained the ability to completely kill the person before her.

"Beast... Queen, do you hate me so much?"

"Now that things have come to this, do you finally want to repent?"

As if he had heard a joke, Penthesilea sneered, and at the same time pulled the gun out of the other man's chest.

Having lost his footing, Achilles collapsed to the ground. Even though he was touching the cold earth and had lost all dignity as a hero, to Penthesilea's surprise, the man lying at his feet laughed.

"It would be a lie to say I don't regret it. But what's done is done. And I don't believe it can be undone. My actions back then were evil. Even so—I, Achilles, would still do it. I wouldn't pretend it never happened. Because..."

With the last of his strength poured into his arms, Achilles managed to roll over, his eyes hazy, as if recalling a distant scene:

"Because, if it weren't for that, I wouldn't have seen what you looked like back then..."

"??!"

In any case, Penthesilea never expected to hear such words from the man in front of her.

So—compared to "me before I met you," compared to "me who never saw your face, more beautiful than a goddess, beneath your helmet," it's better to be "me now, driven mad by your hatred."

"Are you done talking? If you are, then die."

As the emotionless voice rang out, Penthesilea swung the chain that had returned to her hand and slammed the meteor hammer down hard!

Is this the end...?

[Ah, that's enough.]

Men and women;

Warriors and Queens;

Nemesis to nemesis.

Those who are dead cannot die again. Even if they vanish now, perhaps somewhere in the endless future, this battle filled with hatred and guilt will be repeated once more.

But at least here, only for this moment... everything has entered a silent corridor.

That long-buried history, steeped in blood and tears, is finally coming to an end.

But--

In the hearts of men and women;

In the hearts of warriors and queens;

In the hearts of these two arch-rivals, there remains a lingering sense of regret that they did not belong to each other.

Even so, they resorted to physical violence against their opponent;

Even after tearing each other's flesh apart so deeply, a lingering regret remains in their hearts—a regret that they never truly belonged to each other.

"It's a bit of a shame I didn't get to fight that guy..."

"We couldn't stand side by side this time either; I still feel sorry for that man."

Hector, Penthesilea, Agrippa: the inextricable fate of heroes...

It still hovers in the unknown future, where and when.

Berserker, Penthesilea leaves the field.

After the aura from the other end of the contract disappeared, Wang Xiaoming was the first to notice this, sighed.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

A concerned voice rang in Wang Xiaoming's ear. He looked up and saw that Jack the Ripper, whom he was holding in his arms, was reaching out to try to smooth the frown that had formed on his brow as he pondered.

"Good boy, Daddy's alright."

Wang Xiaoming affectionately nuzzled the forehead of Jack the Ripper in his arms, and his depressed mood improved somewhat.

Whether as a comrade-in-arms or a friend, I ultimately hope you can let go...

"It's done!"

Lily's voice and a surge of magical energy, almost materializing, came from the Greater Grail.

"So this is the Greater Grail after it's been activated? Wow, that's amazing..."

As Wang Xiaoming walked up to Lily, he subconsciously sighed. Although he had witnessed the Holy Grail in Fuyuki, the magical power contained within the two was on completely different levels.

"Yes, after the modifications, although it can no longer fulfill the wish to change the world, it's still perfectly capable of fulfilling other wishes."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Looking at Lily, who seemed like a child waiting for praise, Wang Xiaoming smiled, reached out and ruffled her little head, then turned to Jeanne d'Arc and asked:

"Then, Ruler, may we use the Holy Grail first?"

Upon hearing Wang Xiaoming's question, Jeanne d'Arc hesitated for a moment before turning her gaze to Mordred.

"Please make yourselves at home. I need to discuss this with Master."

Mordred shrugged and replied that since they already knew the Greater Grail could grant everyone's wishes, the order in which they were granted was no longer so important.

"Really? Thank you."

Wang Xiaoming nodded.

"Hey, Caster, go ahead."

"Huh?"

Lily blinked, seemingly unable to process what was happening.

"As I said before, [being able to grant your wish] is my wish."

After tucking Lily's stray hair behind her ear, Wang Xiaoming said with a smile, "The Greater Grail is right there now, so let's go and grant our wishes."

Then, the instant Wang Xiaoming landed, a sudden change occurred—

Suddenly, tiny golden spiritual particles appeared out of nowhere and enveloped Wang Xiaoming, Lily, and Jack the Ripper sitting in his lap. In the blink of an eye, the golden spiritual particles blocked the view of Mordred and Jeanne d'Arc, who were standing on the other side.

"What is that?!"

Upon witnessing this unexpected scene, Mordred instinctively tightened her grip on her weapon, while Jeanne d'Arc hesitated slightly, recognizing that those spirit particles were actually the basic substance that constituted the Servant.

But... Berserker and Achilles should have left the stage by now, how come...?

"Hey, what happened?!"

Shirou's voice came from the corridor. The moment he stepped into the room, his eyes were drawn to the golden spiritual particle.

Perhaps sensing the intervention of outsiders, the golden spiritual particles enveloping Wang Xiaoming and the others seemed startled, suddenly increasing their rotation speed before exploding in the blink of an eye.

After the golden spirit particles disappeared from everyone's sight, there was no trace of Wang Xiaoming and Lily left. Only Jack the Ripper, who had been thrown on his bottom, looked around, somewhat confused.

"Hey, where did Daddy go?"

Chapter 290. Epilogue: Fiore and Shirou

The Great Holy Grail War ended with the Yggdmillennia Clan, the rebels, obtaining the Holy Grail.

Although they were furious at the Red Faction Master participated in the war for their lack of courage, the Mage's Association could not stand idly by and watch other forces take down a "forbidden object" like the Greater Grail that could easily reach the Root.

Therefore, upon learning of this news, the Mage's Association immediately dispatched several elite punitive expeditionary forces, several times larger than the previous ones, and equipped with far superior weaponry.

The original assumption was that even if the Yggdmillennia Clan seized the Holy Grail, they would be too weakened to protect the Greater Grail after the Great Holy Grail War.

However, the triumphant Mage's Association was met with news that the punitive expeditionary force had once again been "completely wiped out."

However, unlike last time, the entire extermination force, whose Mystic Code had been confiscated, returned, bringing news that astonished the Mage's Association—

"Peace talks, and a counterparty has already been designated?"

During the meeting, after the Minister of Department of Summoning, Locke Belfebon, who was in charge of the matter, announced the person in charge of negotiating the case, everyone's eyes turned to the man in the black suit with deep forehead wrinkles.

The Clock Tower, inside the reception room of the Department of Modern Magecraft--

The man seated at the head of the table lit a cigar and then fell into deep thought. After a while, as the wisps of smoke in the room gradually dissipated, he looked at the girl before him and suddenly spoke:

"Lady, although I understand the purpose of your visit, there's still one thing I can't figure out: why would you, as the head of Yggdmillennia, seek me out?"

Logically speaking, Yggdmillennia, who won the Great Holy Grail War, should have been readily accepted by whomever he chose to side with...

"It was a friend's advice, Lord El-Melloi."

Looking at the man sitting opposite her, Fiore answered his questions with neither humility nor arrogance.

"Lady, it's the Lord El-Melloi II."

After reiterating this seemingly meaningless title, Lord El-Melloi II rubbed his aching forehead. Recalling Fiore's words, a figure suddenly flashed into his mind—

"Is it that guy, Kadoya?"

"Kadoya?"

Upon hearing the name Lord El-Melloi II utter, Fiore paused for a moment, then nodded, recalling the alias Wang Xiaoming had used earlier.

"That's right, it's Mr. Ming."

During the strategic meeting before the decisive battle, Chiron) brought up this matter.

After the Great Holy Grail War ends, regardless of victory or defeat, the Yggdmillennia Clan will definitely be approached by the Mage's Association. Rather than being passively exploited by those Magecraft, it would be better to proactively find a powerful patron to protect the clan.

Wang Xiaoming then naturally revealed the only person he knew in the Mage's Association.

"Ugh, that guy really knows how to cause me trouble..."

"Of course, we will naturally pay the corresponding compensation..."

After confirming the "mastermind," Lord El-Melloi II

Fiore's next words caught the Lord El-Melloi II's attention--

"After joining the Mage's Association, the Yggdmillennia Clan will become the most steadfast supporters of the El-Melloi faction, and all of our family's wealth will be used by the El-Melloi faction."